Bottle-washing machine



Jan'G, T931. 1. R. HlPPENMEY'r-:R Y 1,787,984

BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

Filed Nov. 15. 1928 -2 Sheets-sheet. 1

.han

6, 1931., l. R. l- HPPENMEYER BOTTLE WASHING MACHINQ\ l Filed Nov. 15, 192s 2 sheets-sheen 2 www; #a ig Patented Jan. y6v, 1931 UNITEoIsiTTfl-:fsf

,PATENTOFFICEJ-f IRvING n.. IIIrIENMnYEaor WAKESHA, wIscoNsIMf-AssIeNoR rro THE cnAMERY PACKAGE MFG. COMPANY, or CHICAGO,E ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION orILLINors Aiaerc'rtri-WA sr'IINs MACHINE y Applicationfled Nvemter A115, 198:8, serial No. 319,485.

chines of the type wherein bottles are-.moved through successive treatment'zones by :means of an endless conveyor having vbottle-carry,-A

' rying conveyonwith supporting sprockets,

and retainingl -rails kassociated therewithfeminof pockets. n ,l

n such machines, theconveyor commonly comprises chain ror link.,belts supporting cross rows of bottlev pockets. Use causes wear in the link connections-with resulting elon 10 gation or slackin thebelts. .To compensate for the slack thus developed, it is common to provide adjustable bearing supports for certain of the sprockets upon which the conveyorbelts are supported, which ymay be sJhifted in position to take up the slack in the elts. i

The bottle 4pockets are constructed iwith open receiving ends, and,'in the operationjof the washing machine, the bottles protrude partially from the pockets. f In those portions of the path of the conveyor where the openends of the pocket'sfare upward-,f.the bottles are retained therein by gravity.: In other portions of the conveyorpath where the open ends are downward or downwardly-inclined, and where the pockets swing about'on the comparatively short radius of the conveyor supporting sprockets, itis necessary to provide retainingrails parallel tor orf concentric 30 with the path of thepockets, with which thek protruding ends of thebottlesare in sliding abutment fortheir `retention'in the pockets. lt is obvious that a shifting of the supporting sprockets,l in taking up ,slack in the ,con'- veyor belts, also shifts the adjacent portions of the operating path ofthe. conveyor, andr upsets its parallel or concentric yrelation: to-

the bottle retaining rails, wherebythe latter do not function properly; 1

40 f It is the object of thepresentinventionto provide a retaining rail structure andsupf port which is automaticallyadjustable, with the shifting offpositi'on of thefsuppo'rting sprockets and conveyor path in abottlewa'sh-z ing machine of the'type described, .to main-k tain the retaining rails. in parallelfor concentric equi-distant relation to the operativel path of the conveyor-at all times. Otherob-'x jects and advantages will be lapparentin the following description of a preferred embodif ment vofthe invention illustrated companying drawings. l

Referring to the drawings, Fig. l is a side View in .elevation of a portion of afbottlecarbodying the featuresofthe invention., 'F ig. 2 is a 'detailed side viewof a means for shifting the kposition of certainiof the supporting sprockets for removing slack from the con'- veyor. Fig. 3, is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken on the plane of the lineA n 3-3 in Fig. l. Fig. 4 isa rear view in elevation of the structure shown in Fig. l, .with the conveyor removed. Fig. 5 is adetailed side view of a retaining rail inits relation tothe sprockets. Fig. Gis a structural detail ofthe. rail support. Fig.7 illustrates a lmodified form of retainingrail. y

ln the drawings,1the" reference numeral -1y indicates thej front one of a pair of'similar sprockets mounted in spaced relation upon a shaft AQ sup'ported in suitable bearings, of which one is indicated at 3, provided upon opposite sidewalls, of whichv onek is shown atl, within a bottle washing'machine. An-

other pair of spacedsprockets 5,'positioned upwardlyof the sprocketsl, are mounted on a shaft 6 supported in bearings also mounted f bracketst) secured to the wallet, and across' the ends of' which `is a connecting bracket l0 carrying a screw `1l positioned axially of they slideway betweenfthe-'brackets 9 `and end-` Vofbelts being indicated 13. Spaced rows of bottle pockets 14 are carried by and between the belts13, the pockets being suitably mounted upon a cross bar 15 (Fig. 3) endwardly secured tothe respective belts '13. rIhe described adjustable mounting of the bearings fer the shaft 6 permits. the afljust-l able increase of the distance between centers.. of the Sprcckets 5 and 1,;thereby taldrgup`h Whatever slackmay Ydevelop in the Chamis 1 3 and maintaining'the proper relation ofrmovement of the pockets 14 to the several cleans.- ingl devices'commonly provided in such machines. Y Y

v As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, the bottle pockets passing withthat'pcrtion .of the con: veyor run between the sprockets land 5- are angularly inverted Vso that bottles positioned ini the pockets. would fall therefremeif re.- taining means were not provided. ToA retain.

the bottles in. the pocket-s, rela-tivelyV stationary' rails 16 are provided,the. railsbeing supported in adjacentr parallel relation to the'pathof movement of the open ends of fthe serially arranged bottle pockets, so that formed in a bracketj19 secured to the. respective side walls, the bar being removably re.- tained against lateral displacement from-,the respective pockets by means' cfa pin 2O po- Y sitioned in each bracket across the lateral openingfromthe pocket (see Fig. 6). Each rail 16 preferably rests upon the .bar 18 and isf provided with ka strap 21 .secured to the railland extending about 4the bar. :The bar 18 may also serve as a support oriother stationagry Yretaining rail-s V22 .extending oppositely .of the rails 16 beneath the runl .of 1011- veyorapproaching thesprockets 1, :the rails 22 being-V similarly provided witli securing stra s V23.

, T e upper ends of the rails 16 are carried upon a mevably supported cross bar 124105/ means Votvstraps V25 secured to the rails yhavingyoke ends embracing thebar 24. f Extending endvvardly of :the upper ends o i the f, rails 16 are curved retaining rails Y26 ariraugedconcentrically to the Sprockets :5 and vtunctioning to retain the bottles in the 'puck-V, ets as the `latter are swung :about the axis; of-

the sprockets 5 in the changeiof direction of the movement `ofthe conveyor. The rails-26 are provided with yoke lsh-apedlower ends reinovably embracing and supported upon the bar 24, the upper ends being also yoke shaped and 'embracing for Vsupport another movably supported `cross 'bar' 27 the upper -yekefends veyor.

being removably secured against displacep ment from the bar 27 by cross pins 28.

The-cross bars 24 and 27 are endwardly supported upon the respective arms of a pair of V shaped spiders 29 pivotally mountedf' upon' the sprocket shaftv 6- at opposite sides-of thefeonvejy'or. The spider 29 maintains.the Vbars 24 and 27, and thereby the Curved rails 26anfd the. upper endsv of. the

straightfral L6 constantrradial relation to i tiQn--thelatter are placed. Movement of the shaft 6, to takeV up slack in the conveyor belts, eausesthe spider 29 to turn on the axis .of the shaft 6, andy by reason of the constant relation of the bars 24-and 27 tothe sprockets 5,"t'he rai1s`fl6 and '26 are maintained in constant parallelism and concentricity to the adjacent path of the pockets 14, within the limits ofadjustment provided. v Inv Fig.f7 is shown amod'ification of t'lie retaining rail construction wherein a curved section 30 is provided'as a. rigid extension of the' rail 16', the integral rail structure being upwardly supported onlybythe one-cross bar 24, which latter is'supported and maintained in constant radial'relation to the shaft 6 by a pairof arms 31 pivotally mounted on the shaft' 6 at' oppositesides ofthev con- An automatically u adjustable support against sagging of the conveyor run between thev sprockets l and -is alsoprovided in association with the 'supporting structure for vthe adjustable retaining rails. A rail -32 is provided at 'each side of the bottle conveyor extending parallel to the rails 16 and immediately beneath the respective conveyor belts 13 and adapted to operatively support the latter in `passage between the sprockets land 5.` y The rails 32-are endwa-rdly supported upon the cross-bars 18 and "24, being' secured thereto as-'by means of straps 33.

To retain the link belts 13 upon the rails 32,v

a side plate 34 is suitably secured to each rail 32 and is providedwith a iiange overlying the belt 13, Vthus providing a channelway forthepassage of the belt along the supporting rail. porting the rai-l32 upon the cross bars -18 and 24, the rail will atallY times be in parallel relation tothe bottle retaining rails 16, thus maintaining the parallel relation of the intermediate portion ofthe conveyor run between the sprockets 1 and?) against sagging ofetheconveyor. y c'la'imas my'invention: f j4 1. Ina `bottle washingA machine having a bottle conveyor comprising a series of rows` of pockets supported'- upon Aav plurality of endless belts, and having v'a plurality of axiallyalinedrspaced sets ef sprockets operatively supporting'saidloeltsof which one set of sprockets is .adjustable in position to take up slack linsaid belts, the'combination of a It will be'obvious that by supplurality of bottle retaining rails extending from adjacent said adjustable set of sprockets to adj acenta next set of sprockets in parallel relation to kthe path'of movement of said conveyor between said sets of sprockets, and supporting means for said rails adapted to maintain said rails inconstant radial dis-` of movement of said series ofpocketsfbetween said sprockets, and means for supporting said rail in constant radial distance from said sprocketsrrespectively.

3. In a bottle washingmachine, a sprocket operable upon a fixed axis, another sprocket v spaced therefrom and operable upon an adjustably movable axis, a belt operatively supported upon said sprockets and carrying a series of bottle pockets, a rail extending par- ,i

allel to the path of movement of said pockets between said sprockets, said rail having pivotal support at one end upon a fixed axis adj acent said sprocket with a fixed axis, and an arm pivotally supporting the other end of said rail, said arm being pivotally supported upon a movable axis coincident with the axis of said adjustably movable sprocket.

Y 4. In a bottle washing machine,y a sprocket operable upon a fixed axis, another sprocket spaced therefrom and operable upon an adjustably movable axis, a belt Voperatively supported upon said sprockets and carrying a series of bottle pockets, a straight rail extending parallel to thepath of movement ofsaid pockets between said sprockets, a curved rail extending concentric to the. path of movement of said pockets around said movable axis sprocket, a stationary pivotal support for one end of said straight rail adjacent said sprocket with a lixed axis, and a spider pivotally mounted on an axis coincident with the axis of said movable sprocket and having ,aplurality of spaced radial arms, one of said arms `pivotally supporting the other endl fof said straight rail and one end of said curved rail,

and another of said arms supporting the other Y end of said curved rail. A c

f5. In a bottle washing machine, a sprocket operable upon a `fixed axis, another sprocket spaced therefrom and operable upon an adjustably movable axis, a belt operativelysupan arm pivotally supported on an axis coincident with the axisr of said adjustably movable sprocket e and extending radially therefrom4 into supporting connectlon with the other end of said rail and a rail adaptedito operatively support the run of said belty between said sprockets, said last mentioned rail being supported at one-,end upon said stationary piv- :otal support and being pivotally supported at the other end by said arm in coincident adjacent end'of said retaining rail.

6. In a bottle washing machine, a sprocket operable upon a fixed axis, another sprocket spaced therefrom and operable upon an adjustably movable axis, a belt operatively supseries of bottle pockets, a rail extending par- ,allel to and supportingsaid belt between said sprockets, a stationary pivotal support for one end of said rail adjacent said sprocket with a fixed axis, and-an arm pivotally sup.- ported on an axis coincident with the axis of said adjustably movable sprocket and extending radially therefrom into supporting relation with the other end of said rail.

7. In a bottle washing machine, a pair of spaced shafts, one of said shafts being movably supported to vary the distance between said shafts, wheels on said shafts respectively, a conveyor operatively supported upon said c l axial relation with the pivotal support for the V'ported upon lsaid sprockets and carrying a j' wheels, a rail positioned parallel to the path of movementy of said conveyor, a spider pivotally. mounted on lsaid movable shaft and having a radial arm supporting the adjacent end portion of said rail, and a pivotal support for the other end portion of said rail adjacent theother of said shafts;

In witness whereof I have hereunto attached my signature.

v IRVING R. HIPPENMEYER.

ported upon said sprockets andcarrying a c series of bottle pockets, a bottle retaining rail extending parallel to the path of movement of said pockets between said sprockets, astationary pivotal support for one end of said` c rail adjacent said sprocket with a xed'axis,

i ao 

